Softball

Washington's Williams Named USA Softball Player of the Week

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America is pleased to announce that Washington’s Niki Williams (Mission Viejo, Calif.) has been named the USA Softball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 22-28. Williams helped lead the No.1 Huskies to a 5-0 record at the Cathedral City Classic, with three wins coming against ranked opponents.

The sophomore batted .588 (10-for-17) with four home runs, 11 RBI and seven runs scored in five games. She had at least one hit and one RBI in all five games, extending her career-high hitting streak to 11 games. Williams, who homered in each of the final four games, was also perfect in the field in 17 chances, playing first base, left field and right field.

“It’s just exciting as I’ve never won something prestigious like this before. To see that the hard work you put in can lead to some success is exciting. I struggled at the beginning of the season, but I made some adjustments and started seeing the ball better and hitting the ball harder,” said Williams. “The experience of being here last year and knowing what it’s all about and just being more comfortable in the box has been huge. I have the mindset now that no one is going to beat me and thinking positively like that has made a big difference.”

Williams started the weekend with an RBI double and RBI single in a 8-0 win over No. 25 BYU, then helped UW beat No. 9 Oklahoma with a three-run home run that ended up being the difference in the game. On Saturday, Williams went 4-for-7 with two home runs and four RBI, hitting a home run off Fresno State All-American Morgan Melloh in a 10-2 win over the Bulldogs and hitting a two-run home run and adding an RBI single in a 9-4 win over Oklahoma State. Williams wrapped up her big weekend on Sunday by going 3-for-4 with a two-run home run to put the UC Davis away.

“Niki continues to put the time in to get better every day,” said Washington Head Coach Heather Tarr. “We are proud that her hard work paid off last weekend.”

Williams joins teammate Danielle Lawrie as Washington players who have earned Player of the Week honors in 2010.

About ASA

The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 210,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com. About USA Softball

USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit www.usasoftball.com.